Meaning & use
multinational
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Operating or based in many different countries at once.
Grammar: Describes a company, corporation, or brand and usually stands before the noun.
Patterns
- multinational company
- multinational corporation
- multinational brand
- multinational group
The multinational company employs people in more than sixty countries.
A small multinational group of engineers designed the bridge.
Local shops struggle to compete with multinational supermarket chains.
adjectivebefore a noun
Made up of people from several different nations.
Grammar: Used for teams, forces, or organizations whose members come from many countries.
Patterns
- multinational force
- multinational team
- multinational peacekeeping force
A multinational peacekeeping force was sent to the region.
The research lab is a multinational team of scientists from four continents.
nouncountablebusiness
A large company that does business in many countries.
Grammar: Countable; the plural is multinationals. It means the company itself, not just the adjective.
Patterns
- a large multinational
- oil multinationals
- foreign multinationals
The coffee is roasted and sold by a Swiss multinational.
Critics accused the multinationals of avoiding taxes in poor countries.
Word forms
| plural | multinationals |
|---|
Common combinations
- multinational corporation
- The report examines how multinational corporations set their prices.
- multinational force
- A multinational force supervised the ceasefire.
- multinational company
- She works for a multinational company with offices in Asia and Europe.
Synonyms and how they differ
- transnational
- Very similar, often used in academic writing for companies or problems that cross national borders.
- global
- Emphasizes worldwide reach but is broader and can describe anything, not only businesses.
- international
- Means involving more than one country but does not imply a large company operating everywhere.
Opposites
Word family
- nation noun
- A country, or the people of a country.
- national adjective
- Belonging to or connected with one nation.
- international adjective
- Involving two or more countries.
Commonly confused: multinational or multicultural?
multinational vs multicultural
Multicultural means containing many cultures; a multinational company operates in many countries, though the two often go together.
Practice
Which sentence uses multinational as a noun meaning a company?
Choose one answer.
In the first sentence, a multinational means a multinational company on its own, which is the noun use. In the other sentences multinational is an adjective describing a company, a team, or a deal.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “multinational”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.